The Deadly Dream
by Lyon.The.Demon
Summary: A/U. When one nightmare threatens to unravel everything Uryuu has worked for, and sets off a chain reaction of deadly dreams and murders, will he be able to figure out what's going on in time to stop it? Or will he find himself teetering on the edge of being unable to distinguish his dreams from reality? One sided Uryuu/Orihime. Full summery inside.
1. Chapter 1

_Full Summary: Dealing with life in college and dreams that sometimes became prophecies of the future; that used to be all Uryuu Ishida had to worry about in his boring but hectic life. So when one nightmare threatens to unravel everything and sets off a chain reaction of deadly dreams and murders, will Uryuu be able to figure out what's going on in time to stop it? Or will he find himself teetering on the edge of being unable to distinguish his dreams from reality? Alternate Universe, One sided Uryuu/Orihime, Blood and Gore, Crime and Suspense.  
_

 _ **A/N: Hey all! I'm back, and with a new project to help me rip my hair out while I continue to work on making Fragility a Visual Novel! If you haven't read Fragility and don't like graphic M rated stories, no need to check it out. If you're a returning viewer, then welcome back, and hope you enjoy!**_

Uryuu Ishida felt his heart leap into his throat long before his eyes opened; he could feel the icy fingers of death trailing along his spine, sending cold chills wracking through his already trembling body as he fumbled around in a panic, a thin sheen of sweat coating his constricted body. It was only when the realization of what he had seen fully registered in his mind that he froze where he lay, paralyzed by the gruesome horror he had borne witness to. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he tried with all his will to calm his erratic heartbeat, and tried to gather the courage to lift his arm again.

Finding it easier to move his head than any other part of his body, he finally managed to twist his head to the right, only for darkness tinged with a dull hue of red to meet his blurry gaze. Fighting back a whimper, Uryuu delicately sniffed at the air, expecting the metallic scent of blood but finding only the musky smell of sweat. Involuntarily gulping, encouraged by the absence of the scent of blood in the air, he found the resolve to flex his fingers around the object he had been holding onto like a lifeline. His entire body jolted upright as the memory of holding a disembodied arm flashed through his mind when his fingers lightly clenched around a warm cylinder, and with as much strength as he could muster, he chucked the arm across the room.

A shattering of glass was heard seconds later, and Uryuu shot up in bed fully awake, his lower limbs still tangled in his sheets and making it difficult to move. The darkness around him made it difficult to see, but with some groping on the small night stand beside him, he managed to find his glasses and shakily slide them up his nose. Blurs and shadows became images and outlines, and with a sheepish horror, he realized that in his frightened fit he had managed to catapult his reading lamp all the way across the room, where it lay mangled against the wall and floor. Cringing slightly, Uryuu's first thought was to glance to his left, wondering if he had woken his roommate with his nightmare, but was answered promptly by a sharp, deafening snore.

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Uryuu kicked off what was left of his sheets and swung his legs over the side of his bed, running his hands through his disheveled hair. Having finally calmed down, he glanced up, toward the dresser that housed their one and only alarm clock, its red numbers blazing down on him, unknowing of the chaos that filled his mind. With a scowl, Uryuu cursed the nature of dreams, always waking him up when he didn't want to be awake. It was too late to go back to sleep, since he had his first class of the day in a few hours, but it was too early to wake up according to his body. So with a yawn and a stretch, he sighed as he resigned himself to being up for the day, and reached for the last drawer of the dresser.

Pulling out a small blue and white booklet from underneath his slacks, he fished in the drawer for a pen before gently closing it and lifting himself from the bed. He no longer had his reading lamp to light the pages of his dream journal, but that didn't mean the bathroom light had gone out, too. Feeling slightly awkward for locking himself away in the bathroom, sitting on a closed toilet and staring at a blank page of the journal, he found himself sighing quietly.

He didn't usually have dreams this... vivid. So horrifically realistic that he could feel the blood splattering his arm and face as it happened... it wasn't normal. In fact, it really freaked him out, and in that moment Uryuu raised his hand to his face, wiping at the spot that had been covered in blood in the dream. He hoped to everything that was holy this dream didn't come true; he wouldn't be able to handle it if it did.

Ever since a few years ago, he had started keeping a dream journal because of dreams like this one. Sometimes, it was nothing to worry about, but then again, sometimes... it was. It wasn't like all his dreams came true or anything. Sometimes he had ordinary dreams, like being chased by crazy clowns or finding a pot of gold; sometimes he had dreams that didn't even come close to coming true, that made no sense after the fact that he still managed to work himself up about. Then there were... those dreams. He wasn't a psychic, or a prophet, or anything to that extent. He couldn't even honestly say he could sometimes predict the future, or that he sometimes changed it. It all seemed like it was a matter of coincidence; just a random happenstance sequence of events that just somehow managed to coincide with what his subconscious mind decided was a good idea that night.

At least, that's what he told himself. With a sigh and a shiver, Uryuu refocused his gaze to the blank page.

 **I'm standing on a street corner,** he wrote. **Its crowded, and there's a lot of noise around me and I'm next to my dorm mate, Ichigo Kurosaki. I know he's trying to talk to me about something, but I'm not listening. I wouldn't be able to hear him anyway over the sounds of a kid crying over a lost toy, or a dog barking at everything that moved a few buildings down from where we stood, or just the general hustle and bustle of the street. I feel like I'm late. Like something bad is going to happen because I'm late, but I don't know what I'm late for. Late to be somewhere, late to meet someone... I don't know, but it's probably Kurosaki's fault.**

 **I notice the 351 bus coming around a corner a few blocks down and heading our way. Maybe we need to be on that bus, or maybe whoever we were supposed to meet is on that bus. I'm not sure why, but my attention is drawn to that bus. It's not slowing down. Then I notice Kurosaki waving at someone across the street, and I see Orihime Inoue crossing the road, heading toward us. She was smiling like always, and waving back at us, but my attention was still drawn to the bus. The speeding bus. Then somehow I realized the corner we were standing on wasn't a bus stop, and all I could hear was the sound of a horn blaring, drowning out all the noise around me.**

 **I felt paralyzed. I couldn't think. But I watched Orihime stop as the screeching of tires tried to drown out even the sound of the horn. I watched her pretty smile fade, and finally my feet moved. She looked exactly like a deer in the headlights, and I didn't think I would make it in time. I ran out to where she stood and grabbed her arm -**

Uryuu took a deep breath, trying to calm the shaking in his hand as he forced himself to recall the events of the dream. If it were to come true, (And he couldn't take any chances that it wouldn't,) then he had to remember. For Orihime's sake.

 **I grabbed her arm as tight as I could and tried to pull her back, away from the bus. I heard the horn whiz past me. Orihime jerked and I felt something warm and slimy hit my arm and face. I felt her squeeze my hand before her grip loosened and her arm went limp. The horn and screeching tires stopped a little way away from us, but there was screaming and yelling to replace it. I remember Kurosaki pulling on me, and without realizing I had moved, suddenly I was looking down at Orihime, her legs tangled up in a tire, lying broken and bloody in the street. People were yelling at me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I just stared at Orihime.**

 **At some point I remember seeing Maki Ichinose stepping out of his squad car and heading toward us all. I remember Kisuke Urahara covering Orihime's face and most of her body with his jacket. I remember Yasutora Sado asking me something. I could hear his words more clearly than anything else. He asked me what I was holding. I remember looking down at the hand I had grasped onto Orihime's arm with. I was still holding her disembodied arm.**

Uryuu jumped, the pen clattering onto the tile floor when a loud succession of sharp bangs at the door sounded out, followed by a groggy,

"Hey, are you done yet? I need the shower."

A nervous, breathy laugh slipped past Uryuu's lips as he bent down to collect the pen, closing the dream journal. Taking a few deep breaths to steady himself, he pocketed the journal to hide it, even though Kurosaki knew full well about his dreams, if not the extent of them. Once it was hidden, he got up and opened the door, but didn't step out from the doorway. He did, after all, have his first class of the day in a few hours, and there was no way he was going in to class after that dream without a shower himself.

"Sorry. I was writing. But I'm going to be in here a little while longer; I still need a shower too."

Kurosaki gave him a half lidded glare and grumbled out his reply,

"Well, that's what you get for destroying that innocent lamp again. Another dream?"

Uryuu felt his cheeks heat with blood; Kurosaki was right, this wasn't the first time he'd thrown the lamp across the room in the throes of a nightmare. It was, however, the first time he had done so while semi-conscious - but Kurosaki didn't need to know that.

"Yeah. I'd rather not talk about it," he finally settled on saying, averting his gaze.

"Right. Just hurry up, okay? I was gonna walk with you to the university today; I'm supposed to meet Chad just outside the new arcade for a bit before class."

Even as Kurosaki turned away from the door, Uryuu felt rooted to the spot. His heart leaped into his throat at the thought of Kurosaki walking with him and meeting Chad along the way. Everything was starting to happen like his dream, and he really wasn't sure whether he wanted to curl up in bed and pretend nothing had ever happened, or try his luck at changing his dream in reality. Swallowing back his fear, he slowly closed the door of the bathroom and locked it, and turned the shower on full blast.

It was while he was in the shower that he came to the conclusion he couldn't stay home today; in his dream, he had been the one to try and pull Orihime out of the way of the bus. Even though he trusted Kurosaki to try and save her regardless, how could he say things wouldn't still turn out the same as they did in his dream? He had to go. Besides, he couldn't take a chance on skipping class this close to mid-terms.

So with a heavy heart he finished his shower, and watched with trepidation as Kurosaki replaced him in the bathroom. Hearing the water run as he was packing his book bag for his Home Economics class and knowing that he might actually have his nightmare become reality made his movements shaky at points, and several times he dropped his pencils and books onto the floor. When he was finally ready, and Kurosaki still hadn't even turned off the water, Uryuu contemplated just leaving without him; maybe that would solve the issue? But no, even that wouldn't work, he mused to himself, pacing back and forth in the tiny room they shared.

If he were to leave early, then the bus would still run poor Orihime over, he just wouldn't be there to stop it. Cringing heavily, Uryuu turned his gaze to the clock, which showed him he just barely had an hour to make the walk to class. Considering the walk took about an hour anyway, he at least knew why he felt late in the dream. It was Kurosaki's fault after all! Embracing his forehead in his hands, he tried to stave off the oncoming headache when he finally heard the water shut off, and he found himself listening anxiously to the sounds of Kurosaki fumbling around in the bathroom as he dressed.

When his roommate finally exited the bathroom, Uryuu was already standing with his book bag slung over his shoulder, tapping his foot nervously.

"Come on, Kurosaki, we're going to be late."

"I know, I know, just gimme a sec here, okay? I still need my shoes and books."

"Kurosaki!"

"Relax, I'm going already!"

Uryuu had to resist throwing his hands into the air, and with every second that passed he felt his anxiety growing until finally Kurosaki had his shoes on and his own book bag in his hands and they were walking out the door. Every step they took toward the university had Uryuu checking behind him and to his sides, looking for any kind of deja vu that might trigger a memory of the dream that had escaped him when he'd been writing, but apart from Kurosaki talking aimless circles around him, nothing seemed the same. He had gotten used to tuning the carrot top's words out, but right now, even the care-free droning of pointless information was starting to grate on his nerves.

It took maybe twenty minutes of walking to reach the half-way point, and the new arcade that Kurosaki had been talking about, since Uryuu had been speeding up his pace and hurrying Kurosaki along. During the walk he had decided, if they managed to make it to and past the street corner before they had in the dream, then maybe Orihime wouldn't cross the street to come and say hello, and she would be fine. That was his hope, of course, but it didn't stop him from freezing in his tracks as they stopped in front of the arcade.

On the street corner he'd seen in his nightmare.

Instantly his heart began to race as he twisted his head painfully around, trying to catch a glimpse through the crowded streets of Orihime. Thankfully, he couldn't see any trace of her, and when he finally came to realize things didn't seem quite right, - No dog barking, no kid crying, - it was only then that the sudden absence of adrenaline left him trembling violently. So much so that when Kurosaki's hand came down on his shoulder, he jumped and almost punched him in the jaw as he turned to face him.

"What the hell, man? What's got you so spooked? Is it... you know?"

Kurosaki gestured with his head toward Uryuu's left, and when he glanced that way, he noticed Chad standing there awkwardly, watching the scene while trying to pretend he wasn't watching. He felt his cheeks heat up again, this time because Kurosaki had promised not to say anything about his occasional nightmares, and here he was, trying to bring it into conversation in front of everyone. He opened his mouth, trying to form the scathing words his mind was insisting he say, but his tongue, much like his body, didn't seem to want to respond to commands too well, giving Kurosaki his opening to continue,

"Well, if it is, don't worry about it. Besides, if you don't hurry, you're going to be late, remember?"

The thought of being late to class seemed to override most of his anger, but knowing that Kurosaki was once more the cause of it had it bubbling back up to the surface. By the time he could actually move his feet again, Kurosaki and Chad were disappearing into the arcade, swallowed by the tinted doors. Shivering and giving one last glance around him, deciding that his dream had in fact, been just that - a dream, he managed to start up a brisk pace toward the university, praying that he wasn't as late as he felt.

He had a feeling today wouldn't be the greatest of days.


	2. Chapter 2

It was almost the end of class and he still hadn't seen Orihime, who could sometimes be seen standing outside the door close to the end of Home Economics, waiting on Tatsuki Arisawa, who sat a few seats in front of Uryuu. It was nice, those days she showed up, because while Tatsuki was busy gathering her things, she would come in and talk to him for a while. Some days, he had even debated if it was worth being late to his next class just to stay and talk with her, since the only time he got to hang out with her was on the weekends or after Home Economics.

However, he wanted more than usual to see her standing in that doorway today, and with every second that ticked by, he grew more and more apprehensive. With only fifteen minutes to the end of class, he felt his mind wandering even further than it had this past hour, to where he couldn't hear the teacher and her comments on how different stitches were done. It wasn't as though he had to listen or pay attention to her or the project in his hands; embroidery was one of the few things he could do in his sleep.

What if Orihime had still gotten run over by the bus? What if something had happened and he just hadn't been in the right place at the right time to stop it because he rushed to school? The thought of having Orhime's blood on his hands just because he'd tried to avoid the situation brought a sharp pain to his chest, and he had to try his hardest to keep his hands from shaking. Maybe he should give her a call after class, just to make sure she was alright. Or would that seem stalkerish? 'Hey, I had a dream you were going to die, so I'm just going to call you every five minutes I don't see you alive so I don't feel guilty, okay?'

Uryuu hissed in pain as his thoughts were abruptly ended by a needle piercing his index finger, which was followed by him catching the tail end of the teacher's lecture, and realizing that he was already halfway finished with the project due to be turned in next Monday. By the time the teacher was telling everyone the class had ended, the small room was already filled with the din of students chattering and gathering their personal items. Slowly, nursing his throbbing finger, he packed his things up, watching Arisawa through the corner of his eye. Never once did she glance over toward the door until she had gotten up to leave, and never once did the door open for Orihime to come in.

With a growing sense of worry, he watched Arisawa leave the class alone, straining his ears to hear if she had perhaps met Orihime in the hall, but it was impossible to hear over the lingering students. Quickly finishing packing his bag, Uryuu jumped from his seat, hoping beyond himself that Orihime had been waiting in the hall, and started toward the door. Now he remembered why he didn't like leaving as soon as class was over; just to get to the door he bumped the shoulders of several students, and felt like he was trying to squeeze through a narrow, moving hall just to get past the doors.

When he finally made it into the hall, it took him a couple of seconds before he managed to pinpoint Arisawa through the crowd. He felt his hopes plummet into his churning stomach when there was a distinct lack of long, orange hair beside her seconds before she turned a corner and was gone from his sight. He stood there for a moment, gnashing his teeth and trying to decide if he should catch up to her and ask her if she had seen Orihime at all today, but the only thing that stopped him was the knowledge he had less than thirty minutes to make it halfway across the campus in the opposite direction to get to his next class.

Cursing the studious nature that won the battle, he gripped onto the strap of his book bag a little tighter as he spun on his heel and took off at a brisk pace toward his foreign languages class. Managing to make it a good ten minutes before the start of English, he had a chance to take his usual seat and breathe, telling himself he was just worrying too much. Orihime would be fine. Of course, no matter what he told himself, he still couldn't wipe the images from the dream out of his mind. Trying desperately to think of something else, Uryuu's eyes fell on the teacher's desk and the feet placed atop it.

He took a moment to wonder why Ms. Shihoin always acted as though she were asleep right before the start of class, when in reality he could see the faint crack of her eyelids and the movement behind them as she studied her students. Most of the other students either acted like they didn't know, or just really hadn't caught on, what with all the goofing off and aimless gossip that floated around. Still, how they couldn't know when she always 'woke up' just in time to start class, Uryuu would never understand.

Just like always, less than a minute to eleven, Ms. Shihoin yawned and stretched out of her prone position in the chair, lowering her feet to the floor and standing up. The class quieted down as she moved to the door, starting to close it when Kurosaki came barreling through the door, skidding to a stop just inside the classroom, heaving and gasping for air. Uryuu watched the two share a look as Kurosaki grinned, pointing to the clock to show he wasn't quite late this time, to which Ms. Shihoin simply replied,

"You have ten seconds to find a seat, Mr. Kurosaki."

She closed and locked the door as Kurosaki jogged toward Uryuu, sitting down beside him. While he never liked sitting next to Kurosaki, Uryuu found himself leaning a little closer as the teacher began lecturing, lowering his voice to a whisper,

"Have you heard from Orihime today?"

Kurosaki gave him a strange look, something between confused and cornered, but before he had time to dissect what the look meant exactly, Kurosaki was talking in a not-really-a-whisper whisper.

"No, not at all. Not today anyway. Why? Is something wrong?"

Half-way listening to the lecture, Uryuu chewed at his lip, his imagination running off with him. So Orihime hadn't shown up today, as far as he knew. That could just mean she was sick today, and taking the day off from classes. It could also mean that the police were cleaning up bits and pieces of her off the road right now.

Uryuu gagged, his hand clapping over his mouth as he fought the urge to vomit, trying as hard as he could to be as quiet as possible. At least, until Kurosaki's next comment.

"Oh, yeah! Is that why you threw the lamp last night? Did something happen to-"

If it hadn't been for a sudden banging on the classroom door, interrupting the lecture and dragging everyone's attention to something other than Kurosaki's absentminded comments, Uryuu probably would have kicked him. Instead, he settled for giving his dorm mate the coldest stare he could possibly muster before ignoring him completely. He turned toward the door just in time to see Ms. Shihoin unlocking and opening the door to let Keigo Asano do his daily walk of shame to the back of the class where he slunk down in a chair with a grin and waited for the lecture to continue.

Honestly, sometimes Uryuu wondered if Ms. Shihoin just hated the brunette, or if there was a sadistic streak in her that none of them would ever truly know about. Thankfully, the rest of the class went off without a hitch, and with more homework piling up right before mid-terms, Uryuu frustratedly started packing his bag along with the rest of the class when Ms. Shihoin unlocked the door and told them they could leave. He had almost finished when Kurosaki startled him by draping an arm over his shoulders, the weight almost pushing him back down into his chair.

"So, she just gave us a crap ton of work to do, didn't she?"

"I'm not doing your homework, Kurosaki."

Trying to brush off his arm, Uryuu shot an irritated glare at the male hanging off him, but Kurosaki wouldn't let him go.

"Oh, come on. I'm not suggesting that, but if you were offering, I wouldn't turn it down."

When Uryuu elbowed his ribs, Kurosaki finally let go, chuckling quietly.

"Okay, okay. Look, what I was really thinking is maybe you could just give me a bit of help, okay? Like a tutor or something. I can't understand half the stuff she says anyway."

"Like hell, Kurosaki. Figure it out yourself. Maybe that way you'll actually learn something for once in your life."

"Just this once," he continued, as if Uryuu had never said a word. "And I'll never bother you with anything like this ever again."

"Yes you will."

"It'd be a big help to me and I'd owe you, big time! Please?"

Uryuu scowled as Kurosaki clapped his hands together in front of him. He knew already even if he said no, it would be taken as a yes. Besides, how much time could Kurosaki really take this time? It was English he was asking for help on; maybe not one of Uryuu's best subjects, but it definitely wasn't one that gave him trouble. Once they got back to the dorm, maybe after a bite to eat, he could study and make pointed comments to 'help' Kurosaki. It wouldn't be _that_ bad, would it?

"Is the braniac really tutoring people now? 'Cus if so, I sure wouldn't mind getting in on that, this class is killing me!"

About to turn around to the newest addition in what was supposed to be a private conversation, Uryuu flinched when Kurosaki's arm once more came down over his shoulders, and he was pulled into the male, throwing him off balance. He had to stifle a yelp at the sudden action, and was about to throw a punch to stop these ridiculous acts when he heard Kurosaki answer for him.

"Yeah, he wouldn't mind!"

"Yes I-"

"Great, do you think there's room in the study group for a couple more then? I know a few people who are dying for some help!" Asano replied.

"No, I'm not-"

"Sure, why not? The more, the merrier!"

"Kuro-"

"Cool! Let's all meet in the cafeteria, since I'm starving. See you in a few!"

"Wait, I don't - ... Kurosaki!"

Uryuu shoved his way out from underneath Kurosaki's arm, his cheeks heating with rage.

"I'm not a teacher, and I don't have all day to teach every subject to every single person who can't study on their own!"

"Relax, it'll be fine. It's just a couple people anyway. Now come on, I'm starving!"

~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~

Never again. Never in a million years would he help Kurosaki with anything, he vowed, trying as hard as he could to reign in the large study group he had been left with. Asano, Kurosaki and maybe one or two more _might_ have been fine, but to have seven people show up expecting tutoring was a bit much. Especially when Kurosaki, the one who _started_ this entire mess, got a mystery text and decided to just leave Uryuu to flounder.

Three and a half hours, he had to deal with people he had no intentions of tutoring before today, and Kurosaki just up and leaves. Not a single person around the table knew where he had gone, either, which just made the issue even more headache inducing. Kicking a stone on the sidewalk, Uryuu clutched the strap of his book bag even tighter, grumbling to himself as he went. Kurosaki better have a good excuse for ditching him in the middle of that mess when he got home. Otherwise, he would never hear the end of it.

When he finally made it back to the dorm, the door was still locked, so it was obvious Kurosaki still hadn't made it back yet. Pushing the key into the lock, he opened the door and kicked his shoes off against the wall, trying to release some pent up frustration. A few seconds of looking at the haphazard way his shoes had landed, however, had him bending down to pick them back up and right them so they were squared away against the wall. Sighing to himself, he sat his bag down beside his bed and flopped onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling.

The one thing that could have made the study session worth it was seeing Orihime; the one person out of the group who had declined to come. He was at least grateful that he knew she was alright; Renji Abarai had a class with her before he arrived at the study group and reported she was in full health and not missing any arms. He had also reported that she declined the offer of a study group for 'personal reasons', whatever that meant. Maybe it was just because Abarai had been the one to ask her, Uryuu hoped. He was sure if he had asked her, she would have joined them and made the entire ordeal so much easier to bare.

Throwing an arm over his head to block out the light, Uryuu yawned, trying to push the thoughts from his mind as he sunk deeper into the soft warmth of the bed. It didn't matter at this point. Orihime was alive, and that's all he could ask for. The dream had just been a dream, and now he could move on.

~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~

Deja vu. He remembered thinking about deja vu, but he couldn't remember why. The sound of a dog barking interrupted his lack of thoughts, startling him into paying attention to where he was going. He was walking down the street with Kurosaki, who was talking about something boring and pointless. No wonder he had lost himself in his thoughts. Sighing to himself, he glanced to his right seconds before a kid and his mother came walking out of a building, the kid crying about some lost toy and only adding to the noise around him. It was then that Uryuu stopped in his tracks; something was wrong.

He'd been here before. He felt his heart slam against his chest as he spun around, just in time to see a bus with the numbers '351' printed clearly on the side turn a corner and begin heading their way. He could feel Kurosaki's eyes on him, and could barely make out lips moving from the corner of his eye, but he turned away from Kurosaki anyway. He couldn't hear anything said to him at this point, with the blood rushing into his ears the way it was. His entire body was shaking, every nerve set on edge as his mind protested what he thought was going to come next.

His heart sunk as his eyes fell on a smiling and waving Orihime, just stepping foot into the road, heading in their direction.


	3. Chapter 3

His body wasn't responding to any command he gave it, but he could feel himself shaking violently. Slowly, sounds were coming back to him, pounding through his skull, mingling with the ringing and throbbing of blood in his ears. Uryuu gasped for breath around the lump in his throat that was slowly suffocating him as the blaring of a horn startled both him, and Orihime. He watched her freeze on the road, just like last time, caught in the same state of paralyzing panic he was in, and the memory of his dream jolted through his body.

Orihime's last look of confusion as Uryuu grasped her arm, trying to pull her out of the way of the bus... Staring down at Orihime's mangled, bloody body... Realizing he was still holding onto her severed arm...

The shock of the memory finally jump started his body, and he felt his feet move toward the street as his mind raced to keep up with him. That was right, he'd dreamed about this before, hadn't he? That meant that it was about to come true, and Orihime was going to die if he didn't do something different. But what could he do? He didn't have time to think, and in barely a second he was in front of Orihime. With the bus horn blaring, tires screeching, shouts and screams from this way and that drowning out whatever Orihime had said to him, he cursed himself as the muscles in his arms bunched and he pushed her backward, out of the path of the speeding bus.

He'd done it! He'd saved Orihime from being run over! Despite the sudden elation he felt, the look of horror that flashed across her face the moment Uryuu had pushed her out of the way sent a pang of dread through his heart. He felt the first wave of pain all through his left side; his arm, his side, and his leg. Like something had taken his skin, muscle, and bone and in a single instant had mangled them together. Uryuu felt his breath knocked from his lungs as the pain rapidly spread to his entire front side as the world around him begun to spin.

Blurs of colors and distorted noises filled his senses, but weren't enough to block out the blinding pain that was exploding through every part of his body now. His entire body felt like it was on fire, and the sharp ache in his head made it feel like it was going to pop. The world hadn't come to a stop yet, but Uryuu forced himself to open his eyes through the pain, trying to figure out what had happened. The shrill, piercing screeching in his ears finally made sense as he registered a vision full of spinning, swerving black tires.

~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~

Uryuu shot upright in bed, gasping and sputtering for air, blood pounding in his ears. His hands flew from his face to his shoulders, to his sides, finding that every piece of him was still where it should be despite their obvious shaking. He could feel the tracks of a few rogue, unbidden tears, but he found his hand clutching at his chest instead of wiping his face. His heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest any second now, and his panicked gasping still hadn't slowed.

Had he just... died? But...

A quiet shuffle from a few feet away startled Uryuu, his gaze shooting up into the widened gaze of his dorm mate. He was standing just inside the door, his jacket hanging off of one arm, the other poised over it like he had been caught in the process of taking it off. Except... he was motionless, giving Uryuu a bewildered gaze

"Are you... okay man?" Kurosaki offered up finally, slowly finishing removing his jacket.

Uryuu opened his mouth to say something, even though he had nothing to really say, and once he realized no words were coming out, he closed it. His head was still swimming, his stomach doing somersaults in competition with his heart. He couldn't think straight, and it wasn't until he heard the rustle of Kurosaki's jacket landing on his bed that Uryuu's eyes refocused, the glasses he'd neglected to take off before his nap giving him a lopsided view of Kurosaki bending down in front of him.

"Ishida, seriously, are you okay?"

That was when his mind decided a flashback would be in order. He could physically smell Orihime's perfume as he pushed her out of the way of the bus, he could see the look of horror twisting her features as he could only assume he was hit by the bus and launched through the air. Then all he could see were the tires that blocked out the rest of his vision.

He lurched to his feet, his hand clapping over his mouth as he used his free hand to push Kurosaki out of his way. He heard Kurosaki yelp and presumably fall over, but before he could think about it, he had already made it to the bathroom and was leaning over the toilet, bringing up what little he'd eaten that day. He stayed in that position until his throat felt raw and his stomach was empty, with only dry heaves to cause his eyes to mist up before he finally stood. He flushed the toilet, turning toward the kitchen for a drink, but Kurosaki was standing in the bathroom door, leaning against the frame; watching him vomit like some kind of creep.

Before Uryuu could say anything of the like, Kurosaki spoke quietly, but firmly.

"What happened."

Shit. Making a face, Uryuu debated his options. He really didn't want to tell Kurosaki what he had dreamed about, but just the same, it really didn't look like Kurosaki was going anywhere unless he did. The awful taste still lingered in his mouth, and since neither it, nor he were going anywhere for the time being, he might as well make use of it.

"Kurosaki, let me out. I need a drink."

He had meant it to sound more firm, like an order; instead, the statement came out sounding weary and exhausted, and mentally Uryuu cursed that fact. He was extremely surprised, however, when Kurosaki came forward instead of backing out of the room, holding a glass of water out for Uryuu to take. It took him a few seconds of staring at the glass to realize that he could actually move; once he did, he carefully took the glass from his dorm mate, and almost finished the entire glass with one breath. He came up gasping for air, his mind still trying to play tricks on him with the memory of the scent of Orihime's perfume, but Kurosaki's words calmed his wayward thought process.

"Now. Tell me. What's wrong?"

Uryuu stared at Kurosaki for a few seconds, trying to debate both sides of the argument. He didn't want anyone to know the extent of his dreams. He had worked too hard to get where he was today, and there was no way rumors of him being a psychotic fortune-dreamer was going to ruin it for him. On the other hand... if Kurosaki knew that Orihime was in danger, maybe he could find a way to change things so that no one had to die. It was that last thought that finally made him speak up.

"I... died."

~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~

The next day was exhausting yet uneventful, and by the time Uryuu got out of his last class of the day, the sun was already beginning to set, casting a golden hue over the campus. Technically it was Uryuu's turn to buy dinner, but it seemed his entire story last night had shaken Kurosaki up bad enough he'd either forgotten, or had just tried to do something nice for a change. Either way, it was kind of nice to know he didn't have to worry about dinner now. They walked home in silence, a rare occurrence, and by the time they were back at the dorm and eating, Uryuu knew something was wrong.

Kurosaki was never this quiet.

Furrowing his brows, Uryuu caught himself playing with his beef bowl instead of eating it, and tried to figure out how to put his thoughts into words. When he had told him everything about his past two dreams, he had actually listened intently, and had promised to do everything he could to keep anyone from dying. Still, he had a feeling the entire situation was looming over Kurosaki's head, either because it was a lot to handle, or because he thought Uryuu was going insane. It could even be both, he mused silently. With that thought, he scowled at his food, wondering again if telling him was the right thing to do.

What else could he have done? Apart from not vomiting after waking up the way he did? Uryuu peered into his food, his mind returning to that night. That's right, he had woken up violently in front of Kurosaki who had... just gotten home? It had been almost morning by the time they'd gotten to bed, so it still had to have been really late by the time Kurosaki had been getting home. He normally wasn't out that late.

"What time did you get home last night?"

Kurosaki sputtered around his own food, his gaze leaping up to meet Uryuu's curious stare. He seemed to struggle to swallow what food was in his mouth before he retorted,

"I dunno. Why?"

"Normally on Thursdays, you hang out with your soccer friends, but because mid-terms are next week, they're all probably off studying. Like you should be." Uryuu normally wasn't one to pry, but the more he seemed to say, the more uncomfortable Kurosaki looked. "There's a slim chance I'm wrong, but I doubt you'd stay out late studying."

Kurosaki refused to meet Uryuu's gaze after that, and it only piqued his interest when his dorm mate replied,

"Don't worry about it."

Usually Kurosaki didn't evade answering questions like that; especially when he'd been insulted in the same breath. Something seemed... off, but Uryuu really didn't have any grounds to call him out on. So with a quiet sigh, Uryuu returned to picking at his food, his stomach still churning from the excitement of the past few days. The rest of dinner passed in absolute silence, and both went to bed without another word spoken between them.

~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~

It was Saturday, and neither Uryuu nor Kurosaki had anything to do. If it had been up to Uryuu, he would have stayed at home and used his last two days before mid-terms to study, but Kurosaki being Kurosaki had decided they were going out to get Uryuu's mind off things. Which, Uryuu could admit, he did need to get his mind off a few things, but he could just as easily do so by studying; a concept his dorm mate would never understand. So here he was, walking along side the carrot-top, barely listening to his non-stop, senseless chatter about nothing in particular.

He had been kept in the dark about what they were doing, but according to Kurosaki, they were meeting some 'friends' around noon. It was currently half past noon. Honestly, after everything he'd gone through already, Uryuu didn't mind dragging his feet a little; it wasn't like it was a meeting he had made, or was supposed to keep. It was Kurosaki's fault they were late, anyway. He let a sigh slip past his lips as they walked, his mind keeping the same, sluggish pace his legs were. He really should be home studying right now; maybe he should just tell Kurosaki to forget it; maybe he should just turn around and walk home without saying anything.

Maybe -

He about jumped out of his skin the moment a dog began barking from behind a fence at their passing. His heart jumped into his throat as he held out an arm to stop Kurosaki in his tracks; the one thing he hadn't been able to do in his dreams. Maybe calling attention to the situation sooner would stop it? But there was the kid and his mother, walking out of the arcade, the child crying over some kind of toy, and Uryuu noticed Kurosaki stop in his tracks. He had explained the scene in such detail that this time, both of them turned in unison just in time to see that awful bus round the corner.

Uryuu was shaking as he glanced toward the other side of the road, dreading the sight he knew was coming, only to have his dread increase as Orihime, waving and grinning at the two of them, was just stepping foot into the road. His mind ground to a halt; he didn't even realize he was moving until he felt the wind in his face.

His only thought was keeping Orihime alive.

This time, he met her on the road before she stopped; before the horn even started blaring. Knowing he would have to apologize profusely, he grabbed her arm, wincing at how startled and taken aback she looked, even as he tried to pull her back onto her side of the sidewalk, desperately saying,

"Look, I'll explain later, just -"

They had almost made it to the sidewalk when the loud horn that haunted his nightmares sounded out. There was no way, both he AND Orihime were out of the way this time! Did he do something else wrong? Pushing Orihime slightly behind him, Uryuu turned to face the 351 bus, quickly coming up on their location, only to find that Ichigo had evidently run after Uryuu a little too late. The screeching of tires hit Uryuu's ears as he felt that violent churning in his stomach that usually proceeded another round of vomiting, but he couldn't look away.

He could only hope that Kurosaki was fast enough.


End file.
